RWBY Volume 7 Episode 9 Review - As Above, So Below, All is Connected 

First rule of Evil Mustache Club: Never record Evil Mustache Club.

Weiss: "I can do that right?" best moment ever

Weiss: “I’m bout to end this mans whole career!”

I swear to God, if Cinder tries to chase Ruby for the rest of the season instead of going for the relic I will lose all hope for her character. The writers did her dirty as it is

Not to mention that Neo was in the dinning room while ironwood and the council talked so Neo heard alot more then she was supposed to :0

Our heroes now face the every growing force of Mommy Salami.

There's so much symbolism when it comes to Jacques being judged: The Arma Gigas summon, arguably Nicholas' armor, keeping him from running away and Nicholas' portrait being Ironwood, as if both were looking down on him. The Schnee name came for Jacques, and it wants him out.

As soon as I saw the maid smile and the eyes I knew it was Neo, was a really nice way to show her referring back to volume 3, also I think Watts was working for Salem before the Paloden project (not sure on the spelling there?) But only for the main reason that Roman Torchwick said "thanks to my employer we managed to snag a few before they hit the shelves" and I don't see how the could steal those without Watts influence

21:50 The stare she gave Cinder clearly means. "Bitch, I was watching the view in a cool pose and you interrupted me."

I think he hired the faunus butler because he's ok with having them around as long as long as they're serving him.

My opinion in a nutshell: "That's a... SPICY MEATBALL!" Now the boss fight of the end of the Volume begins.

Maid Neo joins the fray Our favourite Neo after Loli Neo

Looks like Willow got what she wanted.

SO gratifying to see Jacques face justice. Not since Ramsay Bolton have I so relished a villain getting what's coming to him.

I don’t ship rosegarden. It’s just weird with Oscar having Ozpin in his head. But it is sad that he has that burden.

Jacque finally got what was coming to him. Honestly I’m glad ironwood got a break before having the news about Salem being broke to him. Otherwise I feel like he would’ve given up.

Was literally sipping on tea during this episode as weiss spilled all of jacques tea out on the table. XD

Mini Wievern shows up... Clover: Clever Girl

Harriet might give more insight on Ruby's semblance, if she and Ruby fight against Cinder and Neo. Here's to hoping.

I still think Jacque hired Faunus as butlers either 1) To feel more power over them or 2) He could get away with paying them less?

Honestly when I saw the last part of the episode where Neo looked at Cinder I though she was going to somewhat betray her or something..

This was one of the best RWBY episodes I have watched in a while - so much happened. A perfect start to the action and tension which has been built up for the last 8 episodes.

Im really glad we got over the whole secrets thing, even the other councils know now.

The "Ravager" looked like he wanted to spread the great and wonderful words of your new queen, Salem. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Following up with your old Rem theory, I think there’s something that I missed during my commentary on it; why exactly was Kuroyuri founded? Some of the speculation that it was like the numerous other startups we’ve seen already, such as Mountain Glenn and Brunswick Farms, led me to think that Ren’s seeing the underlying instigation a of the attack on his hometown happening again, and the same mistakes being repeated to handle security. So, I think now that his reasoning is that he doesn’t want his past to repeat, especially since he now has the ability to do something different.

I convinced for some reason Neo will somehow become the winter maiden. She may change sides however, reasons remain to be seen. (Just my fan theory)

“He only wanted my credentials” Me: Oh you poor Misguided fool

Finally someone puts the head of the schnee dust company in his place! That was so satisfying from weiss

Okay so a few things of note. Firstly I love the imagery of Jacques being interrogated while the portrait of Nick stares down upon him in judgment. The Grimm in question is not Goliath. It is another Grimm based on creatures from the ice age as do the rest of those in Solitas. I do think you are partly correct on Ren but I believe it also ties back to Kuroyuri and the suffering there rearing back on him. And him wanting to do something about it. Lastly I don't believe Oscar will fade exactly. We've seen an example of what happens. In which after years. Ozma seemed to take control during his first reincarnation. But the farmer was still conscious within him. So while they will merge. Oscar will likely remain present so long as he is in Oscar's body and then join the Oz collective in the next incarnation.

I honestly loved this episode and the ending *wow* now that we know that Neo and Cinder are in atlas and that there is a ton of Grimm on the loose. I think that something big is going to go down soon. Either Neo is going use the information that she learned to plot something with Cinder or the winter maiden is going die and her powers get passed down to Winter. Or Whitley does something (I’m not sure about the last one 😅)

great review I think all of this is Doctor Watt's plan by having everybody focusing on him and the Grim in Mantal there is nobody to protect the Iron Maiden or The Relic

I highly doubt Jacques' going to join Salem, I found myself saying something during the interrogation; "Greed Begets Ignorance, Jacques, and Ignorance begets being used". I don't think Salem needs money. Nor do I think Jacques has any, given I'd believe that him going to jail might be enough for Weiss' mother to file for annulment without.... Losing whatever she was afraid of losing. Related to Jacques for that matter, I don't think he was shooting a glare at Blake when team RWBY arrived, I think he was glaring at Weiss. I both think and want to see more of Atlus next chapter, maybe they'll take the opportunity to show a kingdom's journey in trying to raise to combat Salem, and become a beacon of "you can fight her, you can win" for the rest of them.

If the bad guys won't succeed in destroying Atlas and taking the staff of creation I won't be able to take them seriously anymore. Also I hope that no one from Salem's faction dies this volume, that would be beyond stupid

One thing i like is the painting of Nicholas Schnee in the dining room, it looks like his armor is the same as the arma gigas which makes sense, love tgat detail

I can't wait for Qrow and Robyn to fight against Tyrian and also i think Oscar will inherit Ozpin's memory,power and experience and they will become one as he fully reincarnates

Highlights for me were the cute Ruby and Oscar scene and Weiss arresting her father

At the 2019 NYCC RWBY panel they announced that vols 8 and 9 were both greenlit, which is ahead of schedule for them. They got the budget to start working on them at that time, before vol 7 even premiered, which has never happened before. They were able to give the info that vol 9 would be shorter, so that vol 8 could be longer, and that vols 7 and 8 would be more connected. So it feels like anything not wrapped up that's coming up now will be handled in vol 8. They acknowledged they had big things coming starting this volume, so they wanted as much runway as possible to get through them. Balancing characters and plotlines and stuff. So the most interesting thing to wait and see for now is what they focus on, what is addressed, and what the volume will end on needing to be addressed in vol 8. Will we get some kind of huge cliffhanger at the last episode? Maybe something with Atlas falling or the Winter Maiden? We'll have to wait and see.

That dragon is clearly Kevin's brother, Albert. In all seriousness though, with the whole winter theming relating to Ragnarok, that could be the Nidhogg: a dragon/serpent that is known for chewing away at the roots of the World Tree in Norse mythology. Its said to be trapped by the roots right above the realm of Niflheim, a realm of ice and cold (sound faniliar?) During Ragnarok, its said it would break free and aid the Giants during the battle against the gods

While it was a good chapter overall, I rolled my eyes when cinder appeared at the end, she’s such a one note, boring character it’s almost unbearable at this point, but hey, just one fans opinion

Weiss: expose her father the fandom:(that's 70 show reference) you are a god, a god we tell you

I would love at the end of the season, Watts and Tyrian are defeated and getting loaded into a prisoner transport and right before the door closes Tyrian looks up and just gets this smile on his face and starts cackling, as the sun is blocked out with the shadows of Salem’s army moving in and we just get a season end fade to black with just Tyrian’s echoing laugh

Oscar: hello, god of light, I need help God of Light: Ok I use my spell card, De-Fusion

You uploaded this at 3am for my time zone , but it was so worth it!

The bit were oscar was talking to ironwood and trying to help him and ruby jumps in at the end felt weird to me like i feel you could have not had her say anything and it would have been fine also jacque you had this coming for a long time

Wait I just noticed something. When the kids were in the ship to head to Mantle. You can see Ren look at his fathers knife that he has on his shoulder. Could he be thinking about this as his past. That’s why he’s so stressed as he possibly knew something like this would happen, after arriving into Atlas/mantle.

I think the Atlas arc will continue in Volume 8 because seeing that there is only a few episodes left and there still is more to come I feel as if they are going to push some of it on to Volume 8 which will end with the main cast heading to a different Academy.

I would have killed to see Jacques try to use cunning and manipulation to escape consequence when Weiss showed the recording of him and Watts. He could have said something like: “What is more likely, that I would be colluding with a dead man, or that my daughter is trying to ruin me out of her spite for me?” All with a devilish and smug mannerism! Although he might have to reveal some of the abuse he has put Weiss through to make his claim more convincing, but he would see it as more than worth it. He could even try to frame her as an out of control child, in an attempt to discredit her. And if he does get arrested, Rooster Teeth would have the perfect opportunity show his conniving, deceit, and asshole-ness at a trial! But I do not think this would work given how Jacques has been built up thus far. I do not think he is that intelligent, but hey, it is always fun to create scenarios like this!

I think that the new elephant grimm is based on woolly mammoths. Something far more old than elephants in any world. And, since we have saber cat grimm, it's safe to say many grimm up in the artic areas of Remnant are inspired by our words' ancient species.

I keep confusing semblances, stands, and quirks

Depending on how the law works in Atlas they may not prosecute Jacques, the information was obtained illegally, it is not legal to record something unless you participate in the conversation, Jacques can even sue Weiss and win the case.

NEEOOOOO I knew it was her right away!! Just that smirk totally gave it away. Also Jacques got what was coming but I still think he should get something worse. And I’m really glad they finally told ironwood and how he took it

Guess Who's Back Again

Many suspected early in V7 that the Atlas arc will last two volumes, there are certainly plenty of story beats to cover over the course of that many episodes.

My bet is that the post-credit scene for this volume is the alarms going off once again and everyone looks to the horizon as Salem heads towards them with her flying monkeys.

"What's happening with Ren?" I'd say in this single case? Flashbacks to Kuroyuri. It's not something which goes away just because he killed the Grimm which was the major element of that incident. Being uncomfortable he's going to be in a situation not unlike the one which took his parents (and an entire village) away from the world.

Real question....where was Jacques planning on going? Like he got up and ran, but like, WHERE was he going to run, and HOW did he think he was getting past pro huntsmen?

"This is the look of a man who regrets wearing a tailored white suit" Me: Nah that is the look of a man who regrets wearing a clip on tie

(At 5:28) what he "deserves" is a painful ass whoopin, not an sculling lecture.

Jacques' clip on tie has been confirmed.

Concerning the thing with the dust crystal being thrown into the fire, it's very possible that the quality of that particular crystal wasn't very good as it was very dark-looking as compared to the ruby red crystals we saw in Vale. It is also possible that through the application of aura dust is triggered with greater potency so while dust certainly has potency of its own it's effects are possibly amplified a bit through the addition of aura. They've stated in the show that their weapons are conduits for aura which is why they can do some of the cool things you see them due by blending technology, dust, and aura together to create something more powerful than the individual components.

I really enjoyed this episode. After what it left off, I really can’t wait for 10 to see what happens.

Does anyone know why episode 9 is not on Crunchyroll?

WOAH WHAT IF OSCAR IS THERE FOR WHITLEY BECAUSE HE WASNT WITH EVERYONE ELSE WHEN THEY WERE IN THE AIRSHIP HE'S STILL AT THE ACADEMY SO WHAT IF HE CROSSES PATHS WITH WHITELY AND STUFF HAPPENS

I think Cinder wants to get the Lamp first more than anything. She did say she has to get it before it can be secured, and Oscar is up in Atlas with the Lamp on his waist. With the army going to Mantle, Atlas is less safe.

What’ll happen to Whitley?? Daddy’s arrested meaning he’s not the heir anymore, technically.

Ozpin could have told Ironwood Jinn's name. Or he could have been there when Ozpin asked the first question of her this era (remember, the question about how to destroy Salem was in a past era, along with questions about the locations and powers of the other Relics).

I really do pity Whitely. He wanted one thing: the SDC. And now because of his father, the name of the company has fallen and basically everything he has wanted and worked for has been taken away.

I had a different idea, that Neo's and Cinder's target are the relics and Ruby. They saw Oscar with the Relic, capture him and Ruby will come to them. Has the side bounce of getting a Relic and from Cinder's point of view if she hands a Relic to Salem it will get her back in good grace.

I believe that this volume is going to be the Amity Arena arc, with the success of the launch at the end of the volume. All the rest of the Atlas threads that they have set up will most likely conclude next volume hopefully making this not fell rushed at the end.

Dread it, run from it, the truth still arrives. I really want to see Tyrian and Jaune meet up again

I'm hoping they don't tie up the Cinder/Neo arc this volume. I feel it's more their style to keep lurking behind the scenes until the end of the last episode to introduce themselves; possibly via incapacitating Ruby to kick-start the events of next volume. It would feel like a waste to try to shoehorn that whole storyline into roughly four episodes, dealing with trying to off each other, who would be the next maiden if Cinder falls *rimshot*. I feel it's better to let this arc breathe a little bit until Watts is dealt with.

If Watts is able to do whatever he wants, then he might even be able to make atlas fall out of the sky. I know he needs the winter maiden to do so, but there has to be some sort of energy connection somehow that he can disable Really scary but if you think about it, it could be true

I loved this episode so much!! :D I was shocked and surprised at every moment. im so happy that Weiss and Willow were able to get Jaq out of the Castle. Happy the truth is being told. Happy Ironwood told the truth and hopefully the council can support Ironwood and team Rwby against Salem. I really just loved this episode and seeing the elephant grim again!! lolz I remember volume 2. And we get some RoseGarden. Having Neo in the castle was a little surprise but I remember there was another maid in the hallway originally. What will Neo Team Salem do now that they are all in Mantle and Atlas? I cant wait

I'm just expecting a cliff hanger of a future episode to be Ruby going dark on the coms. Yang into ear peace "Ruby, where are you" Cinder's voice "sorry big sis, I need to have a talk with my old friend" Credits Me/us "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Circus music plays in the bg as you bring up renora, rosegarden and traitor theory, but not the bees look and fair game flirting.

I think Neo already has the relic. After talking to Ruby (and having been spotted by Neo) Oscar went back to Ironwoods office by himself... and when Oscar stands up after telling Ironwood about Salem he doesn't seem to have the relic on his belt anymore. With Neos power she could've easily stolen it from Oscar - I wouldn't be surprised if Oscar reaches for the lamp in the next one or two episodes and the instant he touches it it shatters to glass.

so does anyone know what the names of the new grimms they showed in this episode?

Thank God for winter break , the Rwby epsidoe and this theory . I guess it could be a different Grimm in terms of the elephant but it looks like they have fur on the backs which gives me Mammoth vibes and it would make sense because there are saber tooth tiger Grimm As well and Viloceraptor Grimm ( sorry if I spelled it Wrong) so I believe over all it's a different Grimm . And man witley is a stick lol there is no way he could come with the gang on missions so i wonder what does the mother mean about not forgeting her bro and all yet i do feel for the guy . Over all dope review dawg .

7:20 I thought Roman used some aura to activate the dust crystal, while the dude from Mantle didn't, hence less of a reaction (although aura doesn't seem to be necessary to activate dust as dust crystals in the mine that caused the cave-in went off without it). 17:00 They look kind of like some kind of raptor combined with an Archaeopteryx. No idea who the most likely candidate for the winter maiden powers is (Cinder, Neo, Winter, some other random person), although my guess from in order from most to least likely is someone who hasn't been introduced, Neo, Winter, then Cinder. The rest of this volume's gonna be lit.

A velociraptor with wings? Oh God, oh God, Oh God, Oh God

Weiss arresting Jauce just made me so warm inside, I don’t know why. Maybe the thought of getting revenge for what he did. Can I also say, seeing Whitley sitting alone then running away broke my heart. He’s not a bad character (yet), he’s just a victim that thinks his fathers the best for the Schnee Dust Company

So basically this was a breakdown of every little thing plus a few sentences of what-ifs and embellishments... Also, ironwood knowing Jinn's name doesn't contribute to the theory that he used the last question. Oscar explaining the truth about Salem took place offscreen, but it's extremely likely that he basically said something along the lines of, "We asked the Genie of the Relic, *whose name is Jinn*, what Ozpin was hiding from us and she told us, this is what we know"

It looked like the post credit scene this time would have been about Cinder and Neo but since they are here what could happen? I doubt Salem base cause that was in the last volume. Probably Vacuo...and since the books are canon maybe something about who's kidnapping powerfull semblance wielders

I know this is a slightly unrelated topic but do you think that the Maidens have safeguards protecting their specific element from being passed onto someone blessed by... Any 4 of them?

dwas neo the one who talk to whise in the hallway when she went to her fathers office

Cinder and Neo have two options: Go after Ruby in the middle a battlefield risking life and limb for payback, or kidnap a young farmhand with relic in hand. Then use Oscar as bait to lure Ruby into an ambush. Instead of Harriet I think we may get Ruby and Penny vs. Neo and Cinder as well as Tyrian vs Crow and Robin and lastly Ironwood and maybe Winter vs Watts. Maybe Jaune, Ren, and Nora vs Neo and Cinder instead, who knows?

The dust crystal didn’t explode because there was no spark of explosion, there’s dust specifically for explosions, I believe the orange dust, since Roman’s bullet would explode regardless, the fire dust crystal simply amplified it

about how long Arthur was on Salem's side, you need to remember thing like the Paladin project isn't like a movie, take 2-3 years to finish. a big military project like that can easily take a 10+ years to complete, maybe even more considering it was the first of it's kind and they had to built it from the ground up, so I will say he joined Salem not less than 8 years ago. (also there is the possibility that he was a secret agent for her far long before he faked his death)

I've seen the look at Jacques face

I’m still all for the theory all rwby members will be maidens by the end of the show, if it’s true maidens power transfers to the last person she thinks of its likely that winter(when/if she gets it) and raven pass it to Weiss and Yang. Ruby could already be the summer maiden(unlikely but her mother’s name is literally summer) and could also receive the fall maiden power as cinder is obsessed with her and could very well think about her while dying. Blake is the odd one but we know nothing about summer maiden so it’s still possible.

Is anyone else disappointed that Ironwood didn't punch Jauque, when he was walking around the table towards him I thought he was going to deck him in the tash

I really liked the episode. Exciting to watch until the end. A wonderfull way to start the new year.

If you look back on all of the previous volumes, we've had 3 volumes dedicated to three out of the four continents/kingdoms: Vale, Mistral and now Atlas in this order. It would be odd for the writers to break from this rule and bring about the end of the Atlas arc via its fall. I'm not saying that Atlas won't come crashing down, but if it came down in this volume (either on top of Mantle land into the ocean somehow), that would be the end of the kingdom itself. So what would be the point of that? I don't anyone is ready yet to what Vacuo is like. Also I liked the last minute interaction between Ruby and Oscar, but i can't help but feel like this ship will be short lived as we start to see Oscar talk and act more like Ozpin.

this is totally not Ep. 9 related, but with Oscar joining Jaune's team do they have JNPR back?? If you play with the names: - Jaune Arc - Nora Valkyrie - Pine, Oscar - Lie Ren Does that count?

They're wooly mammoth grimm, if they have a name. I believe CRWBY said that the new grimm would be based off of ancient extinct ice age animals.

There is also something I'm wondering about: Cynder and Neo are clearly after the Winter Maiden and the relic of Creation. So I think they're trying to kill the current one in order to get the power and the relic. However, correct me here if I'm mistaking, the power of the maiden is passed to the last person the maiden had in her thoughts before dying. Winter was chosen to become the next Winter maiden, and she took care of the current one for a long time, as her time is almost up. So even if Cynder and Neo manage to find and kill the current maiden, as Winter took care of the current maiden for a long time, she would likely take the powers regardless. But this is something that Cynder and Neo might not know, so their plan might be falling apart regardless. Am I right or am I missing some parts?

Clover is a backstabber. If you look at clover in the opening sequence he is singled out and the rest of the Ace ops fades in and watts is looking at it. What I think is that watts is looking over Clover to make sure his cover is not blow

I knew neo was the maid. She is one of my favorite villains from this show. I disliked that she disappeared after torchwick's death but good thing she came back last season.

7:28 actually I think that explosion was small because the dust wasn't activated. From what we can gather based on how people talk about dust it seems dust its raw form is actually not super reactive, requiring a person to "activate" it with their aura to unleash it's potential. However, raw dust can become agitated and reactive due to other circumstances and create situations like the mine from chapter 3.

It makes perfect sense a faunus is his butler. He's a "house faunus" and not a "field faunus". Mirroring slavery